Felicidades a Johana Ortiz Suchil
El equipo de TeCHS y COERLL se enorgullecen en presentar al Student Spotlight del mes de noviembre: Johana Ortiz Suchil. Actualemente ella está cursando su cuarto año en la universidad de St. Edward’s en Austin. Ella fue nominada por la Dra. Emily Bernate que comparte con nosotros lo siguiente:
“Johana es una estudiante excelente que se ha esforzado mucho para poder hacer una especialización en español. La conocí hace dos años cuando solo había planeado hacer una especialización en derecho penal (Criminal Justice). En los últimos dos años ha tomado muchos cursos de español, incluyendo Spanish for Heritage Learners, para poder obtener una segunda especialización. El próximo semestre trabajará como TA para un curso de español y será un buen modelo de una persona que valora su bilingüismo. Cree que el bilingüismo es una herramienta importante que se debe desarrollar para trabajar en un país con tanta diversidad lingüística. Además de ser una estudiante aplicada, siempre ofrece comentarios analíticos y creativos.”
My name is Johana Ortiz Suchil and I am a first-generation College Assistance Migrant Program college student from Kerrville, Texas but originally was born in San Felipe, Guanajuato, Mexico. I am currently in my fourth year of my college journey double majoring in Criminal Justice and Spanish. Spanish has been a tremendous part of my life thanks to my family and friends. Being born in Mexico allowed the opportunity for me to go to school for about two years before I moved to the United States when I was about six years old. I come from a traditional family where we are accustomed to speaking Spanish daily at home, and it just feels natural to use it. My advice to other heritage speakers is to practice the language whenever you get a chance and to not be afraid to use it, no matter what others tell you. It can be difficult to use the Spanish language when criticisms are high for other languages and the push for English usage is dominant and important, but do not let that stop you from practicing. One of the things I enjoy the most from using and enhancing my heritage language is the ability to connect with other Spanish speakers from all over the United States and the world. This connection with other Spanish speakers creates the opportunity for me to learn from their culture if it’s different from mine and vice versa, but it also creates an opportunity to just have a conversation with someone who has something in common with me. Studying Spanish at a college level has given me the opportunity to expand and enhance my knowledge in the language, so I can use it in the future for other social connections and use in a variety of career paths. Thanks to this, I plan on using my Spanish skills and knowledge to either work with immigration by helping individuals through the documentation process of becoming citizens, residents, or legal individuals. I want to be able to give them the opportunity to prove to themselves that they belong here, but also let them know that diversity and our Spanish language is still important to our individuality as well as our culture. This process is important for their future and their careers, but knowing the Spanish is still present can help be a motivation for them to keep practicing it and teaching it to future generations.
¡Felicidades Johana!